High school football: Chagrin Falls' remarkable four-year run ends with loss to Akron SVSM (with audio)

Chagrin Falls seniors stayed around a little longer than usual Saturday at Solon after the Division III Region 9 final against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. There was Jack Campbell and Ben Vandertill side by side on the bench, and Bradley Munday walking alone for a few moments around midfield.

It just never seemed like this memorable ride through November every fall would ever end.

The journey ended for the Tigers on the turf at Solon's Stewart Field, but this will be a legacy that stays around for the foreseeable future.

Chagrin had difficulty at times generating offensive rhythm en route to a 34-7 loss to the Fighting Irish.

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Akron SVSM (11-2) generated 372 yards of offense, got a monster game from its defensive line led by junior Travonte Junius and held the Tigers (11-2), including sacks, to 6 rushing yards on 26 attempts.

Two numbers that will carry much more reverence in Chagrin, however, will be 51 -- as in the number of wins for its senior class since 2009 -- and three, the consecutive state final four appearances made by the program as one memorable chapter came to a close.

"Every one of them, I love all those guys," said Tigers coach Mark Iammarino of his seniors. "They're great. They're warriors. They've been successful at everything they've done. They're successful on the athletic field. They're successful in the classroom. They're great young men, and they're going to be very successful after high school, too. I'm very proud of all of them.

"They've left a legacy of winning 51 games in four years. High school football players haven't received that much success, I don't think, other than this group. I hope they celebrate it like that."

Down, 13-0, late in the opening half, Chagrin was able to generate a drive to climb back in the game. Tommy Iammarino connected with his brother Matt Iammarino for a 19-yard catch to the Fighting Irish 21 and Vandertill for a 14-yard catch to the 7. Two plays later, Iammarino bought some time in the pocket and hit fellow senior Vandertill in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard score.

"Watching the film last year, us against St. V, and this year, I definitely saw a lot of improvement in Tommy moving, and I think he had a phenomenal year," Vandertill said. "We hooked up a bunch of times this season, and we kind of have that chemistry."

Quarterback-to-receiver chemistry was a trend on the other sideline, as well. Fighting Irish signal caller Clayton Uecker, shortly after Vandertill's TD, connected with fleet-footed Fransohn Bickley (four catches, 107 yards) for a 49-yard pass play to the Chagrin 8, and four plays later SVSM power back Newman Williams plowed in from a yard out to open a 20-7 advantage heading into half.

It remained that way deep into the third, until Junius came up with a huge play to turn the tide. The junior stepped in front of an Iammarino pass at the line for an interception and rumbled 34 yards to the Tigers' 6. Vince Lockett took care of the rest out of a Wildcat formation with a 2-yard TD and a 27-7 lead.

"They did a great job up front," Iammarino said. "We felt like, if we put a lot of guys in the route, that we would be able to do that. We didn't protect as well as I would have liked for us to, so we didn't get to throw on rhythm. That upsets the passing game."

Chagrin was unable to recover from there, as one of the area's more memorable multiple-year postseason runs came to a halt.

"I don't even know where to begin," said Munday, who capped a fine high school career with eight catches for 105 yards. "It's been the most unbelievable four years of my life. Turning this program around and getting to three final fours in a row, three regional championships in a row, we just came up a little short here. But I'll never forget my years here."

Added Vandertill: "You ask any of these guys and they'll always remember standing in the locker room in pregame and hearing the fans cheering us on, just getting ready to go and fighting with these guys. Some of these guys I spend more time with in a regular day than my family. These guys truly are my brothers, and it's just been a phenomenal run."